This paper investigated principal interns' leadership work during the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas. We used data from one-on-one semistructured interviews to document the experiences of 21 principal candidates in spring 2021 through spring 2022. Participants' leadership work changed in four ways during the pandemic: striving, intensifying,…

Clinical experiences, including the full-time principal internship, are considered to be one of the most important components in principal preparation. Yet research on the principal internship is limited to surveys and interviews. I use a daily life methodology to explore full-time principal interns' experiences during an academic school year. I…

The principal internship is a crucial component of principal preparation programs (PPP) in the U.S. and, increasingly, in other countries. The purpose of this study was to compare the experiences and work of principal candidates enrolled in one principal residency program (PRP) to candidates enrolled in a traditional principal preparation program…

The global pandemic of 2020-2021 forced schools and universities to constantly adapt to shifting conditions. Individuals completing their internships between March of 2020 and May of 2021 faced the challenge of making adaptations not only as full-time educators and graduate students, but, in many cases, as parents as well. Gaining meaningful…

Principal preparation programs understand the need for relevant internship activities that bridge the gap between theory and practice (Anast-May, Buckner, & Geer, 2011; Darling-Hammond, LaPointe, Meyerson, Orr, & Cohen (2007). Principal preparation programs utilizing distance technology are also charged with meeting this expectation and…

In this study, we sought to understand the development of mentoring relationships during the administrative internship through the lens of the Educational Leadership Mentoring Framework (ELMF). Two cases of mentor/intern pairs were used to explore how each experienced the phases of the ELMF. Data collection methods included two mentor and intern…

This study compares School Leaders Licensure Assessment (SLLA) sub-scores with principal interns' self-assessment sub-scores (ISA) for a principal internship evaluation instrument in one educational leadership graduate program. The results of the study will be used to help establish the effectiveness of the current principal internship program,…

Leading, facilitating, and making decisions is central to school leadership positions. Decision-making simulations provide graduate students a vehicle for increasing their practice and fine-tuning leadership skills with guided support from college faculty. This action research study uses a case study method to reveal the perspectives of school…

Online simulations offer opportunities for trial and error decision-making. What better tool for a principal than to make decisions when the consequences will not have real-world ramifications. In this study, two groups of graduate students in a principal preparation program taking the same course in the same semester use online simulations…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate East Tennessee State University graduate student perceptions on the effectiveness of internship experiences as students explored the implementation of ISLLC Standards and the role of mentor support as they prepared for the principalship. The participating university for this study is…

Whereas researchers have examined dispositions in teacher education programs, literature to assist the field of principal preparation is limited. However, the Educational Leadership Constituency Council standards clearly delineate dispositions that are essential for the success of school leaders. The faculty at a southeastern public university…